Refrigerating apparatus



sept. 15, 1942.

E. D. DRAKE REFRIGEBATING APPARATUS Filed July 18, 1941 IN l 'Eme'..`D.. Diem@ VENTOR.

Patented Sept. 15, 1942 l BEFBIGERATING APPARAIUS Earl D. Drake, GrandRapids, Mich., assignor to Nash-Kelvinator Corporation, a corporation ofMaryland Detroit, Mich.,

Application July 18, 1941, Serial No. 402,901 Claims. (Cl. 2li-35,)

` not shown as any of the well known types may The present inventionrelates to refrigerating apparatus, and more particularly to cabinetconstruction. )l

It is an object of the present inventionvto provide an improvedarrangement for securing a breaker strip to the metal walls of arefrigerator cabinet.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clip arrangementwhichs self-lock-` ingly attached to one of the walls, and a breakerstrip which is self-lockingly attached by means of the clip arrangement.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a metallicbreaker strip formed of relative thin metal.

A further object of the present invention isv s to provide the innerpanel of the door of insulating material mounted in floating relation topermit freel expansion and contraction thereof.

A further object is to secure the inner door panel in floating relationto the door by a resilient gasket.

The inventionitself, however. both as to its lowing description ofspecific embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of a refrigerator cabinet with parts broken awayand shown embodied therein the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view i taken along line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 3-3 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken along line 4-4 ofFig. 3;

l Fig. 5 is a perspective view of` a fastening member embodied in thepresent invention;

Fig. 6 is 'a fragmentary cross section view taken along line 6 6 of Fig.2; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a fastening member embodied in thepresent invention.

Shown inthe drawing is a refrigerator cabinet 20 of the household typehaving a food storage compartment 22 to which access is had throughopening 24. The opening is closed by a door 25. The circulating air inthe compartment is cooled by a mechanical refrigerating apparatus ofwhich the compressor-condenser unit thereof is located in a secondcompartment to which access maybe had through the closure member 26. Asthe refrigerating apparatus forms no part ofthe present invention, it isbe used.

The cabinet is constructed with an inner metal casing. shell or hner 29and an outer metal casing or shell 30. The walls of the inner and outercasing are'in spaced parallel relation between which is placed suitableheat insulation material 3i. 'I'he inner shell 29 forms the walls of thefood storage compartment. s

The marginal edge of the outer shell 30 is inwardly turned to 'form afront wall portion 32 peripherally about the opening 26. The portion 3|vextends a terminable distance towards the inner liner where it is bentupon itself to extend reversely towards the side wall, as at 34, tothence extend its remaining portion with the side wall, as at 35. Therear portion 34 and 35 are preferably welded to the front portion of"the shell to form a portion of the side wall and the front wall ofdouble wall thickness, and thereby add' rigidity tothe outer shell.

The inner liner is outwardly flanged to provide a front wall 3lextending peripherally about the opening 24. The marginal edge of thefront wall portion 31 is bent at right angles to extend rearwardly-andparallel to the side walls of the liner, as at 39. The portion 31 of theinner liner and portion 3| of the outer shell terminate a spatialdistance apart and are joined by a relatively thin breaker strip 40.

The breaker strip 40 is preferably formed of stainless steel or the likeand is preferably formed of .010 inch thick metal, though other heaviermaterial may be used and suitably coated with enamel, or plated. Similarbreaker strips are positioned along the other side of the cabinet on thefront wall adjacent the opening 24 thereof, `and immediately above thefood storage lcompartment at the top of the cabinet, and alsoimmediately below the food storage compartment. Since the principle ofattaching the other breaker strips are the same, there is only shown indetail the breaker strip 40 and the way it is attached. I

The breaker strip 40 extends preferably in a convex curve from edgeofouter shell over to the flange of the inner shell. One of thelongitudinal edges of the breaker strip is formed U- shape, being iirstbent reversely upon itself to form a double wall portion 42, thence bentat right angles to form bightsection 43, thence benty to extend, as Iat44, angularly towards the section 42 and having its marginal edge bentangularlyV outwardly, as 'at 45. The U-shaped section is adapted toengage over and embrace opposite sides of the double wall section withthe portion 42 engaging the side 32 and the portion 44 engaging the side34. The opposite longitudinal edge of the breaker strip extends tocontact the front portion 31 of the inner liner and thence bent toextend inwardly, as at 41, to engage past and press downwardly upon therounded end 50 of an L-shaped member 52 and form an interlock with theend 50 against ready withdrawal.

The member 52 comprises a leg section 53 which lies flush against theange section 39 and is secured thereto by tongue 54 punched outwardlyfrom the leg 53 to enter an opening 55 in flange 39 and engage the rearside of the flange. The leg 53 is out inwardly from each side at adeterminable distance from its top edge to provide inwardly flaredtongues 51 at each of the top corners which are adapted to engage andrest upon the top edge of the flange 39 and with the engagement oftongue 54 xedly lock the member 52 upon the flange. The members 52 areattached at spaced intervals along the flange 39.

This arrangement is one which provides a rapid and easy assembly in thatthe members 52 are attached by moving the leg 53 ush against the side offlange 30 so that the tongue 54 enters the opening 55 to engage the rearside of the flange 39, and continuing the inward movement until thetongues 51 snap over the top edge of the flange 39. It will be notedthat the tongue 54 tends to move the leg 53 in flush engagement againstthe side of the flange 39 thus with the tongues 51 in engagement overthe top edge the member 52 is securely aflixed in position. The otherleg 59 of member 52 is in spaced parallel relation to the front wallportion 31 of the inner liner forming a pocket therewith. 'I'he breakerstrip 40 is then attached by sliding the U-shaped section over the endof the doubled wall section of the outer shell, with the end 41 engagingthe radiused end 50 on the leg 59.

The door 25 comprises an outer shell of dish like conformation havingupwardly extending sides 10 which are bent inwardly at right angles toform a peripherally extending ledge 12. The extended metal from ledge 12extends downwardly to form a section 13 parallel to the sides 10 andthence bent at right angles to extend inwardly, as at 14. The ledge 14extends peripherally about. the door parallel to the ledge 12.Clampingly secured by an L-shaped strip 16 to the ledge 14 is tongue 19formed integrally with the door seal gasket 90. Preferably, the gasket90 and the parts joined thereto are formed of resilient rubber. Thestrip 16 is secured by screws 92 which pierce the tongue 19 and threadinto the ledge 14. Also secured by screws 92 and resting on the strip 16are U-shaped members -94 having leg sections 96 and 91 each providedwith an inwardly cut slot 99. An inner panel |00. forming the inner sideof the door, is secured by resting upon the abutment |02 formedintegrally with the tongue 19 and its marginal edge engaging theunderside of the leg 91 of member 94.

The gasket 90 lies over the ledge 12 and over a marginal portion of thepanel so as to conceal the securing means. The gasket 90 is adapted toengage and form a seal with the front wall 34 of the cabinet so as toprevent air entering the food storage compartment.

Suitable heat insulation material |01 is provided between the spacedinner and outer panels of the door.

In the assembling of the door, the member 94 is slid by means of theslot 99 so that the leg 96 engages under the head of a respective screw,and the panel |00 set so as to engage under leg 91 with notch ||0 inalignment with the slot 99 so that a screw driver may pass through toengage the screw head for purpose of threading the screw into the ledge11. The gasket is turned upward during this operation. When the screw isfully threaded into the ledge the leg 91 will securely hold down theedge of the panel against the abutment |02. This arrangement secures thepanel |00 in floating relation permitting it to freely expand orcontract. .This is desirous as the panel is formed of compositionalmatter, such as plastic, which has the tendency to absorb moisturecondensed thereon which causes the panel to expand outwardly. As theexpansion is not uniform throughout, but depends upon the amount ofabsorption, the present arrangement permits free expansion at anyperipheral point for the members 94 are set at spaced intervals aboutthe edge of the panel so that at no point is the panel pierced by anyafiixing means. The pressure of the leg 91 upon the edge of the panelagainst the resilient abutment; |02 is only enough to provide frictionalresistance to prevent shifting movement of the panel, but never enoughto cause a binding action to prevent expansion.

In the door construction shown, I have disclosed the use of the U-shapedmember 94. However, in some instances, it is desirable to omit thisU-shaped member entirely. When the U-shaped member is omitted the headof screw 92 will rest on member 16. When the U-shaped member is omitted,the panel |00 will rest on abutment |02 and will be held in thatposition by edge ||5 of gasket which is rigid enough to hold the panelin position while permitting lateral expansion of the panel. In thisinstance the gasket material is the sole supporting means for the panel|00. Also, if desired, the U-shaped member may be used without engagingeither side of the panel by having the side 91 thereof spaced above thepanel and in this case the gasket is the sole support of the panel. Inthe case of large doors it may be desirable to use the U-shaped members.

While I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, Idok not wish to limit myself to the precise detail as shown but wish toavail myself of such variations and modifications as may come within thescope of the appended claims.

I claim: A

1. A door for a cabinet comprising sheet material to provide side wallshaving inwardly turned portions and downwardly offset ledge portionsunited therewith, a. panel forming the inner side of said door extendingbetween said ledge portions, a door seal having a tongue portionextending along said ledge, said tongue having a resilient raisedportion for supporting said panel, clamping members engaging the edge ofsaid panel for holding said panel against said raised portion to permitexpansion or contraction movement of said panel, and means for securingsaid clamping members and said tongue to said ledge portions.

2. A cabinet door comprising sheet metal material formed to providefront, top, bottom and side Walls, a resilient gasket secured to saidmaterial and extending around the rear edge of the door and beingprovided with a pocket of lesser Width at the entrance thereto than atthe rear of the entrance of said pocket and a thin nonl2,296,024.metallic insulatngpanel forming the rear wail of 4 said door and havingits edges extending into said pocket whereby the gasket material formingthe entrance portion of the pocket frictionally engages said panel tosecure and hold said panel in floating position with respect to saidwalls without the aid of additional means.

3. A cabinet door comprising material arranged to form the front andside walls, a gasket having a pocket carried by said material and aninsulating panel forming Athe rear wall of said door and being securedand carried by said gasket in said pocket. 1

4. A cabinet door comprising wall means, a gasket having a pocket, aU-shaped member arranged for securing said gasket to said wall means andan insulating panel carried by said tions, a door seal having a tongueportion extending along said ledge portions, saidtongue having aresilient raised portion for supporting said panel and clamping meansengaging the edge of said parigi for holding said panel against saidraised portion to permit expansion or.contraction movement of saidpanel.

EARL D. BRAKEt

